Atlas Mountains, Morocco, Africa
The world’s most special Berber mountain resort — and the inspiration for our documentary Changing Worlds in the atlas Mountains — Kasbah du Toubkal is an extraordinary community-run lodge in the High Atlas which empowers local Berbers to host guests of its 14 rooms for remote off-the-grid escapes, within an hour and a half’s drive of Marrakech. Set up in 1995 to support the local Berber people by creating an economic engine for their community in one of the hardest to reach but beautiful hiking areas of North Africa.
Bouteco loves: One of the founders noticed girls from the local hilltop communities weren’t going to school: it was too difficult for them to get there, and it meant walking hours and crossing rivers and slippery slopes. There are cultural reasons, also, but by renting an apartment near a government school where they could live in the week, they presented a solution. As well as providing accommodation, they recruited a responsible, caring housemother to host. Through donations, the charity Education For All now hosts six dedicated boarding houses, and they’ve helped hundreds get a secondary education.
www.kasbahdutoubkal.com
